Zoe Ball grew emotional during the latest episode of her and Jo Whiley's Dig It podcast after hearing her co-star's heartbreaking update about her dad. On Tuesday evening, the BBC Radio 2 presenter announced that her father Martin had died aged 86 following a battle with Parkinson's disease.
Shortly before sharing the sad news, Jo became visibly emotional as she revealed he had been admitted to hospital after suffering a bleed on the brain. Martin subsequently spent several days receiving medical treatment before being transferred to a ward where he was being 'kept comfortable'.
Jo's emotional revelation
'He's not going to get better and so everyone's been to say hellos and goodbyes,' Jo began explaining to Zoe, before becoming overcome with emotion. As she tried to compose herself, Zoe became emotional while stepping in to comfort her. She responded: 'Oh darling, just saying those things out loud, it's really tough.'
The former BBC Radio 2 Breakfast Show host is also among many who have paid tribute to Jo following the announcement.
Tributes to Martin
In a lengthy tribute posted to her Instagram page, Jo described her dad as 'the kindest man, who lived solely to make others happy'. 'He was supremely selfless and loved nothing more than caring for others and making people laugh,' she added. 'He may have had the saddest childhood but he triumphed by giving me, Frances [her sister], and his grandchildren the happiest childhoods anyone could have dreamt of. He was the greatest Dad and he was everybody's favourite Grandad, but especially to India, Jude, Cass and Coco [her children] who adored him.'
In the comments section, Zoe wrote: 'Darling Jo. I'm so sorry for your loss. Your words and these photos paint such a picture of a wonderful man who loved his family with his whole heart. Thinking of you and your mum, Frances and the kids and Steve.'
Final moments
During the pair's latest podcast episode, Jo said the 'hardest thing' during her father's final moments was witnessing how upset the younger members of her family were while watching their grandfather deteriorate. 'They say that hearing is the last thing to go, so we've had some really nice conversations talking to him,' she shared. 'The first time I saw him, we were trying to get a reaction from him, we were trying to read signs about whether he could hear us and he was responding initially, which was wonderful, and everyone got time with him on their own.'
'It was really important for it to just be us alone. And you do say those things that you've never said,' she continued. Jo went on to describe how her father 'never wanted to talk about feelings or emotions', noting he would frequently avoid such discussions. 'So, it was kind of funny because there was nothing he could do to stop us from telling him how much we loved him,' she added.
Further into the podcast, Jo struggled to contain her emotions once more as she recalled her father uttering the name of Frances, who has a rare chromosomal disorder called Cri du Chat, while he was barely conscious. 'And she keeps saying, "Daddy said my name" and it was lovely, it couldn't have been better.'
